Emerging wearable sensor technologies offer attractive solutions for continuous, personal health/wellness assessment, forensic examination, patient monitoring and motion recognition. Recent advances in epidermal electronics provide classes of skin-mounted sensors and associated electronics in physical formats that enable intimate contact with the skin for long-term, reliable health monitoring.
An important measurement mode in such devices may involve the analysis of body fluids (e.g., blood, interstitial fluid, sweat, saliva, and tear), to gain insights into various aspects of physiological health. Such function in wearable sensors, generally, and epidermal electronics in particular, is relatively unexplored. Existing devices either use complex fluidic systems for sample handling or involve purely concentration-based measurement without sample collection and storage, or access to parameters related to quantity and rate. In addition, mechanical fixtures, straps and/or tapes that are typically required to maintain contact of these devices with the skin do not lend themselves well to continuous, long term monitoring without discomfort.